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Exploring books for children: words and pictures
Exploring books for children: words and pictures

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7 Analysing images: composition and symbolism

The author of Hansel and Gretel, Anthony Browne, is well known for his stories which depict gorillas in human roles. The gorilla motif recurs throughout Browne’s work, gorillas being a long-term passion of his. The next activity looks at how mood and relationships may be conveyed to the reader in pictures, using two pages from Anthony Browne’s Gorilla (2002). This is the story of a young girl, Hannah, living with her father who is too busy to pay her much attention. She longs for a gorilla; when given a toy one, it comes to life and takes her off on a series of nocturnal adventures, bringing warmth and security into her life. Her relationship with her father also improves as a result.

Activity 10

Part 1

The illustration below is from Anthony Browne’s book Gorilla, and shows the central character, Hannah, having breakfast with her father.

Described image
Figure 16 Hannah and her father. Illustration: Copyright © 1983 Anthony Browne. From GORILLA by Anthony Browne. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ.
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The image shows the little girl, Hannah, sitting at the breakfast table, with her back to the viewer. She is positioned in the foreground, in the centre of the illustration. Her body is partly obscured by two parallel wooden bars that form the back of her chair. She is wearing a bright red jumper, and her long brown hair is tied up in a ponytail. She is propping her arms and elbows on the table as she eats her breakfast. On the table, to her right, is a glass of milk and, just behind that, a blue-and-white box of cereal with an illustration of a monkey on it. On her left is a pair of blue-and-white striped salt-and-pepper shakers and a blue-and-white striped sugar bowl. Hannah’s father is sitting opposite her, facing the viewer. He is clean-shaven, with short fair hair neatly brushed into a side parting. He is having coffee in a blue-and-white striped mug. He is dressed for work in an office in a dark suit, blue shirt and dark tie. He has a rather dour expression on his face, and is not looking at Hannah at all, but is absorbed in reading his broadsheet newspaper. Between them is the white expanse of table cloth. The floor on either side of the table is made up of black-and-white squares in a chequerboard pattern. Behind the father, and framing his figure, is a white refrigerator. On either side of him are two pairs of blue kitchen cupboards, one pair high up on the kitchen wall and the other pair below a white countertop. The kitchen cupboards all have grey metal handles. The kitchen wall around the cupboards is covered in small white tiles. The countertop has very few items on it. On the far left, under the cupboards, a blue-chequered plate and biscuit tin lean side-by-side against the kitchen wall. On the right, under the other set of cupboards, a neatly folded, blue-and-white dish towel hangs from a rail. Further over to the right, on the far edge of the illustration, is a white electric socket with a plug in it.

Figure 16 Hannah and her father. Illustration: Copyright © 1983 Anthony Browne. From GORILLA by Anthony Browne. Reproduced by permission ...

Based on this illustration, what kind of relationship do you think exists between father and daughter?

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Consider how the illustration conveys the relationship between Hannah and her father.

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The image is the same as that on the previous screen, of Hannah and her father having breakfast together. However, this time, five numerals have been positioned over certain parts of the image; each numeral is red and set inside a circle. As the mouse cursor is moved over each numeral, a text box appears with a comment about a particular aspect of the image. The number one is positioned by the refrigerator in the centre background, directly behind the father’s head. The accompanying text box says: ‘In the very centre of the picture is the fridge, which frames the father. This is probably symbolic and suggests that the father is emotionally cold’. The number two is positioned on the newspaper the father is reading; its accompanying text box says: ‘The newspaper that the father is reading acts as a barrier between him and his daughter. His line of vision is focused directly on this newspaper, emphasising that there is no interpersonal connection between him and his daughter’. The number three is positioned on the table cloth; its accompanying text box says: ‘The table itself acts as a barrier between the two characters. It is a sterile white and looks very big between them’. The number four is positioned just to the left of Hannah, in the foreground; its accompanying text box says: ‘The colours used in the illustration as a whole are all very cold and muted. The picture is mostly in black, white and pale blue. Even the father’s face has blue shadows across it. The only bright colour is Hannah’s red jumper, which could suggest something about her character’. The number five is positioned to the left of the father, in the background, above a kitchen cabinet; its accompanying text box says: ‘The drawing is dominated by straight lines, many of which form grids. The effect of this is to make the kitchen look like a “cage”. This may be significant, as two central themes of the story are Hannah’s desire to visit the zoo and the friendship that she forms with her toy gorilla’.

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What aspects of the way it is drawn, the use of colour and the composition do you think express the mood of the relationship between father and daughter? Write down three aspects of the picture that you think contribute to the overall effect.

Hold the mouse cursor over each number on the illustration to see some of the ways that it might tell the story of the relationship between Hannah and her father.

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The illustration below comes later in the book Gorilla. It shows Hannah sitting opposite her toy gorilla, who has come to life.

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Figure 17 Hannah and the gorilla. Illustration: Copyright © 1983 Anthony Browne. From GORILLA by Anthony Browne. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ.
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The image shows Hannah sitting at a table with her back to the viewer. Again, she is positioned in the foreground, in the centre of the illustration, but this time she is sitting on a chair that does not have a back. Hannah is wearing a yellow jumper, and her long brown hair is tied up in a ponytail. The gorilla is sitting opposite her, facing the viewer. He is large, brown and hairy all over. Hannah’s head is silhouetted against the dark bulk of his body. The gorilla is wearing a red-and-white polka-dot bow tie, and has a kindly amenable expression on his face as he munches a banana that he is holding in his right hand. The table is spread with a red-and-white chequered tablecloth, and is laden with party food. On the right side of the table are a slice of Victoria sponge cake, a chocolate cream éclair, a red mug with tea in it, a bottle of tomato ketchup, a pink jelly decorated with red cherries, a cherry flan, and three fairy cakes, each of them iced with a cherry on top. On the left side of the table, in front of Hannah, is a hamburger with chips, and, in front of the gorilla, a stack of yellow bananas. Next to the bananas is another red mug with tea in it. To the left of this are a knickerbocker glory ice-cream sundae, a basket of plums and a couple of nectarines. The wall behind the gorilla is covered by a cream wallpaper with a pattern of cherries on it.

Figure 17 Hannah and the gorilla. Illustration: Copyright © 1983 Anthony Browne. From GORILLA by Anthony Browne. Reproduced by permission...

How do you think the mood differs in this picture compared to the previous one? What would you say is the relationship between Hannah and the gorilla?

Answer

At this stage in the story, the gorilla has taken Hannah on an outing to the zoo and then to the cinema. They have had a wonderful time. The relationship between them appears to be far warmer than that between Hannah and her father.

Part 2

Now compare the two illustrations.

Described image
Figure 18 Illustration from the book Gorilla, by Anthony Browne
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These are the same illustrations as those in previous screens in this section. The illustration on the left shows Hannah and her father sitting at the kitchen table, having breakfast. Hannah has her back to the viewer, and is wearing a bright red jumper. On the table in front of her is her breakfast, including a glass of milk, a blue-and-white cereal box, a pair of blue-and-white striped salt-and-pepper shakers, and a blue-and-white striped sugar bowl. Hannah’s father is sitting opposite her. He is having coffee in a blue-and-white striped mug, and is reading a newspaper. He is wearing a dark suit, blue shirt and dark tie. Between them is the white expanse of table cloth. The kitchen floor is made up of black-and-white squares in a chequerboard pattern. Behind the father, and framing his figure, is a white refrigerator. The kitchen has blue cupboards surrounded by small white tiles on the wall. The countertop is white with few items on it.

The illustration on the right shows Hannah and the gorilla sitting at a table, having tea. Again, Hannah is sitting at a table with her back to the viewer. She is wearing a yellow jumper. In front of her is a hamburger with chips. The gorilla is sitting opposite her. He is large, brown and hairy all over. Hannah’s head is silhouetted against the dark bulk of his body. The gorilla is wearing a red-and-white polka-dot bow tie, and has a kindly amenable expression on his face as he munches a banana that he is holding in his right hand. In front of him is a stack of yellow bananas and a red mug with tea in it. The table is spread with a red-and-white chequered tablecloth, and is laden with party food: a Victoria sponge cake, a chocolate cream éclair, a bottle of tomato ketchup, a pink jelly decorated with red cherries, a cherry flan, three fairy cakes, each of them iced with a cherry on top, a knickerbocker glory ice-cream sundae, a basket of plums and a couple of nectarines. The wall behind the gorilla is covered by a cream wallpaper with a pattern of cherries on it.

Figure 18 Illustration from the book Gorilla, by Anthony Browne

What differences are there in (1) the use of colour, (2) the use of composition, and (3) the symbolism of objects?

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Click on the link to ‘Next’ to see how colour, composition and symbolism feature in the two illustrations.

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These are the same two illustrations from the book Gorilla, but here both images have been greyed out. At the bottom right corner of the image of the illustration of Hannah and the gorilla is the word ‘next’ with a small arrow pointing to the right. When the mouse is clicked on this arrow, the colours reappear in each image, except for the central figures: in the kitchen around Hannah and her father, in the left illustration; in the wallpaper, the food on the table, the gorilla’s bow tie and his banana, in the right illustration. Below the illustrations, the following words appear: ‘Use of colour. The colours are much warmer in the second illustration. They are mostly red and yellow, and seem to be related much more to nature.’ On the left, at the bottom corner of the illustration of Hannah and her father, the word ‘back’ appears along with a small arrow pointing to the left. Clicking on this second arrows allows the possibility of reviewing the previous image in the sequence.

When the mouse is clicked on the arrow for a second time, the colours appear in the central figures in the illustrations: in Hannah, her father and the kitchen table, in the left illustration; and in Hannah, the gorilla and the tea table, in the right illustration. The rest of each illustration goes back to being greyed out. Below the images, the following words appear: ‘Composition. In the first illustration, the rest of the room is very visible and the characters are stranded in the middle of it. In the second illustration, the figures are more dominant in the composition; we cannot see much of the background beyond them. The gorilla is making eye contact with Hannah, and the outlines of their bodies actually overlap.’

When the arrow is clicked for the third time, the colours appear in the table area, including the crockery and cereal box in the left illustration; and in the wallpaper, the party food, the tablecloth and the gorilla’s bow tie and banana in the right illustration. The rest of each illustration goes back to being greyed out. Below them, the words are as follows: ‘Symbolism. In the second illustration, the table is absolutely full of food. There is a great deal of fruit, which is also echoed in the wallpaper. Overall, the effect is one of warmth and plenty, compared to the sterile atmosphere evident in the first illustration.’

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Discussion

The meanings readers take from any text – whether children or adults – may vary according to their own experience, knowledge, cultural background and so on. The meanings of an image can never be pinned down with 100% accuracy (and some would say that this is true of the meaning of words too). However, these examples do seem to show that the choices of illustrators have a very important role to play; not just in conveying mood and atmosphere, but also in suggesting relationships and plot developments, enhancing and interpreting the story as told in words.